


Come Home

by TheSkyIsALie



Series: Affections of the Underworld [10]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Red Robin (Comics)
Genre: Aged-Up Damian Wayne, Cuddling & Snuggling, Demon AU, Demon!Damian, Demon!Dick, Demon!Jason, Fluff, Kissing, M/M, Plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-02
Updated: 2019-03-02
Packaged: 2019-11-08 04:39:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17974661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheSkyIsALie/pseuds/TheSkyIsALie
Summary: Tim didn’t understand what was happening. Kon had grown up with him - lived through all the tragedy in Tim's life with him - told him everything would be alright when he'd been the only thing Tim had had left. Someone who had spent their life so happy and loving could never be evil.Kon could never be a demon - and yet hewas.





	Come Home

**Author's Note:**

> It took me a little longer than anticipated, but I've finally gotten this one done! This chapter is very heavy in explanations and character interactions that I hope resolve and answer a few questions.
> 
> Please enjoy!

Fog had begun to settle in again over the vast, quiet lands as dusk approached on the dull sunlight - the cold wind that whistled through the ancient castle grounds behind him bringing a steady mist in from the north. Jason hadn’t been keeping track of how long he’d been out there in the freezing weather, staring at the treeline of the thick pine forest that the old castle stood against.

His body had long since gone stiff from the cold, though Jason still hadn’t moved - hadn’t thought of himself as deserving to step back inside and relieve himself of the numb pain the cold brought.

He’d let Tim get taken. _He’d_ been the one left to keep the little human safe and _he’d_ been the one to fail such a simple task. Being drained of both energy and power was no excuse - despite Dick and even _Damian_ seemingly thinking it was. He hadn’t even _woken up_ during the attack, ignoring whatever cries for help Tim must have made in the face of simply keeping up a damn _barrier_ that had proved largely useless anyway.

Tim must have been so scared - Jason knew better than anyone that the little human’s greatest fear was true loneliness, and yet alone he had left him. Jason had known ever since Tim had rejected him for Dick, ever since that _damn contract_ had been terminated, that he would never be deserving of the little human be it romantic, platonic or anything else - now he knew he would be lucky if Timmy even acknowledged his presence.

He’d betrayed Tim in the worst possible way and still claimed to love him, and now he’d abandoned Tim at the worst possible time - and he could only hope he would still be allowed in the little human’s company at all.

“Jay?” Dick appearing beside Jason had almost startled the contract demon, had it not been for the second of warning the incubus had given before his arrival. Dick crouched beside Jason on the damp, grassy floor beside the outer castle wall - expression worried and sympathetic and everything Jason didn’t deserve. “Jay, why don’t you come inside? You’d have frozen to death by now if you could. There’s nothing we can do for the minute but wait, and there’s no use in you playing watchdog. There’s nothing out here.”

“I wanna at least make sure Timmy gets back safe.” Jason admitted, head bowed against the guilt that weighed him down.

“He’ll be fine, Jay - I don’t think _anything_ could hurt Tim right now.” Dick smiled, trusting in the plan Damian set into motion the second they’d discovered Tim was truly missing. The little human would be fine - and Jason needed to believe that, too.

“I sure hope so, Dickie. Li’l darlin’s been through enough already.” Jason hummed, watching as the fog continued to roll in from the treeline. 

The two remained quiet for a long moment, listening to the echoed call of an evening crow somewhere out in the forest - the sky fading to a dusty orange as the sun set behind distant mountains and the cold land around them grew darker.

“The little one is close.” Damian stated from behind the two demons, leant back against the castle wall and sharp gaze fixed on where the old dirt road that lead from the front gates disappeared into the forest. Both Jason and Dick stood at the news, anxious to see their human alive and well again.

It had been a few days since Tim had been taken from them, the younger having been traveling alone to their new location in the time since Damian had confirmed the little human’s escape from his brothers. Allowing Tim to make the journey unaccompanied had been difficult but necessary with the younger’s currently untrackable state - as any of their presence’s would only make finding him again easy for the two princes Tim had left behind.

That morning, Damian had informed Jason and Dick that Timothy would most likely be with them again come dawn the next day - and the castle they had taken residence in had been filled with a tense impatience ever since.

The figure that emerged from the forest on the dirt path was dressed in a thick, white coat that stood as a sharp contrast against the darkness of the landscape. Dick breathed a heavy sigh of relief as Tim approached them steadily and Jason felt the tight tension dissipate from the muscles in his shoulders and back.

Tim’s expression was emotionless sans a slight, serious twitch to his brow that did not suit the little human at all, and those pretty blue eyes glanced at neither of the demons that stood a little off the path he walked as he passed them. Damian straightened as Tim reached him, the younger dipping his head in a subtle bow and holding out the prince’s golden dagger in lieu of a greeting.

“Keep it.” Damian spoke after a brief moment of studying the little human’s body for any obvious injuries, “It was a gift, not a loan.”

Tim nodded once silently, sliding the sheathed blade into the pocket of his coat.

“I trust there were no complications?” the prince continued when Tim said nothing. Though the little human only nodded again, no words leaving his lips. Damian sighed at his silence, desiding, “Then you should leave - there is no use prolonging exposure if it is avoidable.”

Both Jason and Dick watched the exchange in silence, trading a quick, wary glance between each other.

Tim said nothing, pretty blue eyes flickering up to meet Damian’s sharp green for a brief moment before he was shaking his head - Damian’s eyes narrowing a little at the refusal to his command. The gloved hand Tim pressed to his own stomach, however, made the prince withhold any reprimands he may have made, allowing the little human a moment to struggle with his voice before he spoke.

“Cur- he is… cursed.” the words came out weak and slightly strained, as though Tim had forgotten how to use his own vocal cords in the days he’d been away from the demons.

The sudden, stiff tension in the cold air was palpable at the younger’s words. A curse could mean any manner of misfortune - could bring sickness or bad luck or death, could force actions or restrict them entirely. A curse was quite possibly the worst thing a demon could bring upon a human, as there was no exchange - only torment.

Few demons could perform a working curse properly, as they were a sort of magic found naturally in more _human_ beings - witches and vampires and the like. For a demon to perform a curse, the craft must be learnt through difficult means and were still rarely carried out as originally intended anyway.

Damian watched Tim for a moment, studying the lack of reflection of emotion in his eyes despite the pain and upset that should be there. Sighing heavily, Damian brought a hand up to run through his hair as he thought.

“As that may be, you must still leave. No curses can fully manifest nor be properly eradicated with you there, Cassandra.”

Tim’s pretty blue eyes met Damian’s for another long moment - as though words were passed between them despite no sound leaving either’s lips. The younger bowed to the prince once more, head dipping down and shoulders curling over ever so slightly as a steady, black smoke began to lift from his body.

The smoke rose steadily, twisting and curling in the misty evening air before being swept to the side by a gentle, chill breeze.

Damian stepped forward as Tim’s unconscious body dropped - collapsing into the demon prince’s waiting arms. He cradled the little human delicately, taking a moment to check his soft breaths and steadily beating heart before hoisting him up fully - one arm behind the younger’s back and the other beneath his knees as he stood again, keeping Tim resting securely against his strong chest.

The smoke that had lifted from Tim curled and danced around itself in the cold air, dark and thick as its density seemed to increase and its mass grew - extending out until it reached the wet grass beside the pathway, the inner darkness of the smoke solidifying until the vapours could melt away and dissipate completely.

“Cassandra,” Damian greeted the woman that had emerged from the darkness of the smoke, “I’m sure Richard and Todd will be willing to fill you in fully on our current circumstances. Come, you may enter.”

Cassandra glanced back at Jason and Dick behind her as Damian turned to the castle behind him, adjusting his careful hold on Tim ever so slightly before moving to make his way back into the inner grounds of the castle. Dick shrugged at Cass, offering her a kind smile before moving to wrap an arm around her slim shoulders, ushering her along with him to follow Damian inside as Jason trailed after.

\---

Tim woke to a light too bright shining beyond his closed eyes and a steady, painful pulsing inside his head. He groaned, feeling uncomfortable and a little queasy and something else he didn’t like but couldn’t quite put his finger on.

“Do not move, little one - you may only worsen your condition.”

Tim dared to attempt opening his eyes at the deep voice he had come to recognise - though he was only met with the brightness of the cold morning sunlight that shocked his eyes and intensified the pounding in his skull.

“Damian?” he managed to rasp out instead, closing his eyes tightly against the unpleasant sensation.

“Yes, little one, do not worry yourself. You are safe and far from either of my brothers, I can assure you.” Damian’s words were spoken in a softer tone than Tim was used to hearing from the prince - and he almost flinched away when a cool hand was rested against his slightly feverish forehead, having not expected the touch.

“How..?” Tim began, struggling to find the words for his question, though Damian answered anyway.

“I called upon an old acquaintance of mine. She has owed my family a great debt for many years, and with this it will be repaid. Her name is Cassandra Cain - she is... a ghost, of sorts - a spirit once human, or at least, mostly so.” Damian paused, his fingers lightly carding through Tim’s soft hair where his hand still rested against the younger’s forehead. Tim stayed quiet - eyes still closed and content to listen as Damian spoke.

“I had her seek you out and encase your soul and spirit - possess you, I supposed is the term you would use. She was able to escape my brothers easily and kept you from being tracked thereafter, shielded as your soul was.”

Damian’s brothers. Tim’s mind had taken a moment to catch up with what had happened - but the memories of just _who_ he had met when he had been snatched from England and taken to Japan still left him reeling.

“Damian, your- your brother… Kon, he - I knew him.” Tim struggled with his wording, unsure himself of exactly what he was attempting to say.

“Really now, how so?” Damian prompted, clearly both disbelieving and troubled by the little human’s admission. He retracted his hand from Tim’s hair as the younger’s eyes flickered open once more - now a little more adjusted to the brightness from behind his eyelids, though his eyes still stung against the white daylight.

“He was human - he was my best friend. We grew up together, Damian. Kon died in a hospital bed in Gotham with cancer a year ago.” Little pinpricks of tears stung Tim’s eyes as the memories of losing his best friend - of losing _everyone_ \- flooded his mind again for the first time in a while - now so suddenly raw again after having been confronted by one of the very people he’d lost only a few days prior.

He didn’t understand what had happened - _how_ it had happened. He’d sat with Kon for months as he’d slowly fought a losing battle - he’d held his hand and cried as he’d slept and fallen apart when Kon had finally lost the fight. How _Kon_ could ever supposedly be a _Prince of Hell_ simply made no sense to Tim - someone who had spent their life so happy and friendly and carefree could never be _evil_ or even just _ill intent_.

Kon could never be a demon, and yet he _was_.

Tim struggled to move for a moment, ignoring how the nausea he felt worsened as he rolled to his side, bracing his arm on the soft mattress beneath him and slowly pushing himself up a little. Damian readjusted the pillows behind Tim for the younger to rest against.

“You were- Timothy, my brother had been exiled to spend a human’s lifetime powerless only a year before this began. You mean to say you had involvement in that?” Damian asked, clearly at a loss. The situation almost seemed too coincidental to be genuine - but Kon had had no reason to seek Tim out before the little human had gotten involved with Damian, and obviously nothing of what had happened had been _Tim’s_ doing.

“We grew up together, Damian. Kon and I were best friends - he’d been with me through everything. Please don’t tell me that was all a lie, too.” The tears the weld up in Tim’s pretty blue eyes threatened to spill over, so completely crushed by the prospect that _no one_ in his life had been genuine to him.

“I do not know, little one.” the prince sighed, regretful that he could provide no answers for the little human’s clear distress. Damn his brother for managing to get himself involved before Damian had even known of Timothy’s existence - always in the wrong place at the wrong time and doing everything in his power to get under Damian’s skin.

Though, if Kon had been involved with Tim during his exilation, it would possibly explain just how the Second Prince of Hell had managed to get back to the underworld so quickly. It was common knowledge that Kon hadn’t lived out the entire duration of his exile as he had been supposed to - but as the cancer his body had perished from had been an entirely human death, he had still technically met the terms.

Damian had always been suspicious that his brother had crafted a way to kill his human body faster - and with the knowledge of the death that surrounded Tim’s past, he could only assume that it had all been his brother’s doing. To kill those around him and tarnish himself with death so the horseman was more likely to come for him, or using Timothy’s family’s souls as power to curse himself - it was all possible.

Damian sighed, figuring it would be best to simply change the subject of the conversation for now.

“Tell me how you feel, little one. Cassandra brought you back to us in the late hours of yestereve, and I am sure you ache after such lengthy traveling.”

Tim could not deny he was sore - his legs feeling bruised and heavy and back aching terribly. He felt that the nausea would subside eventually - possibly only pain from not having eaten in a long time or something equally similar. But the something else he felt inside him - something so uncomfortable and unnerving, like his organs weren’t functioning as they should - like his insides were _wrong_.

“I do, but there’s something…” Tim trailed off, struggling to find the right words to describe to Damian exactly what he was feeling, “Damian, something’s not right… inside me.”

Tim shifted his hand beneath the bedcovers, resting it gently against his own stomach a little gingerly - almost expecting to feel pain at the touch, though none came.

Damian remained silent for a little while, looking troubled - brows drawn together in an expression a little sadder than his common frown that Tim couldn’t quite name.

“I regret that- you have been curse, little one. Most likely by my brother, Jon - the Third Prince of Hell.”

“Cursed?” Tim repeated the word - the hand still resting on his stomach tightening in the soft material of the pajamas he had been dressed in.

“Demons are unskilled in curses by nature, and thus I have so far been unable to discern the logistics of it. If I am truthful with you, I am not even currently sure my brother created the curse as he wanted.” Damian admitted, sharp eyes not quite meeting Tim’s own gaze.

“Am I… am I dying?” Tim asked after a moment, voice a little weak.

“It does not appear so, Timothy. However, whatever your curse is, it is slow acting and possibly not yet fully manifested - if you currently feel unwell, I believe we should monitor your condition closely. I do not want you to succumb to any sort of torment from my brother’s actions if it is unavoidable.”

“Monitor my condition?”

“The effects this curse may have on your soul can be observed by both myself and Todd - and we will be keeping track of your physical condition closely, as well. I wish for you to inform me immediately if you feel your condition worsen, even if only slightly. I will have myself and Cassandra searching for any means of eradicating it in the meantime, as I have a few acquaintances I believe may be more knowledgeable than myself.”

“Thank you.” Tim said after a moment, Damian shaking his head with a kind expression.

“Not at all, little one. I believe it is through my own actions that you are in this situation to begin with - it would bring shame to my honour were I not to do all I can for you.” Damian replied, breathing in deeply for a moment and shifting in his chair a little uncharacteristically before continuing.

“I believe I should apologise to you as well, Timothy. Richard… he informed me that upon the night that we nullified your contract with Todd I- I caused you great discomfort. Forgive me, little one, that was not my intention.” 

Tim remained quiet at the prince’s words, not having expected the sudden apology - especially over something that was now so long ago. His face heated as memories of that night were brought back. He wasn’t sure what to say - Damian _had_ hurt him, and as much as he appreciated the demon’s apology he certainly didn’t just want to say ‘ _it’s fine_ ’ and be done with it.

Damian appeared to accept his silence as answer enough, however, as the demon prince was standing from his seat a moment later - adjusting the cufflinks on his shirt and straightening his suit jacket out.

“I will visit you later, little one - you are free to rise when you feel well enough. And have Richard or Todd notify me immediately if your condition changes at all.”

Tim nodded at the prince’s words, watching as Damian strode across the large bedroom in the direction of the door - offering the demon a small smile when he hesitated for a moment at the open doorway. The little human was caught off guard when Damian returned his smile briefly before disappearing out of the room.

\---

The door was thrown open with such force the handle banged loudly against the adjacent wall when Dick entered the bedroom. Tim grinned widely, arms open and waiting as the incubus threw himself on top of the bedcovers - wrapping the little human up in his own arms tightly and pressing kisses against the younger’s soft cheeks and forehead.

“I was so worried, baby. I’m so glad you’re safe.” Dick rushed out between kisses, holding Tim’s face in his gentle hands and rubbing his thumb over a sharp cheekbone. “Lord, I’m so glad you’re safe.”

Tim couldn’t keep his smile from growing as he reached up to wind his arms around Dick’s neck and pull the incubus down to him - pressing a firm kiss against his lips with a content hum. Dick returned the kiss immediately - one hand moving to cup the back of Tim’s head and the other winding around the younger’s waist, deepening the kiss immediately with hot lips and a hotter tongue.

“ _Ah_ \- _Dick_ , I missed you.” Tim whined when they broke apart, tugging at the incubus when Dick tried to move away further than the little human wanted him to go, “I love you.”

“I love you too, baby.” Dick replied, heart melting at the sweetness of the pretty little thing in front of him. He pressed another kiss to Tim’s soft lips - and then another, and another, “The devil _himself_ , do I love you.”

“Where’s Jay?” Tim asked after another drawn out moment of trading warm kisses, brain steadily ticking back to the things that had been troubling him while he’d been away, “Is he alright?”

“He’s alright, baby, don’t worry.” Dick replied, sliding off of Tim to settle beside the little human on the large bed. “He was in pretty bad shape when we got back to that mansion, but nothing permanent - and he’s all fixed up now. He’s been blaming himself for losing you - and he won’t acknowledge that he got hurt, himself. But other than that he’s fine.”

“I get the feeling he won’t want to visit me, if he’s thinking that.” Tim mused a little sorrowfully, “Do you… do you think you could ask him to come when you see him?”

“Of course, baby - whatever you want.” Dick hummed, carding his fingers through Tim’s soft hair as the little human settled against his chest. “Take it you don’t feel like getting up yet?”

A few moments passed in silence at the question, Tim running a hand over his stomach in an attempt to sooth the unrelenting discomfort he felt.

“I don’t think so. I don’t feel like whatever’s wrong will be getting any better, but I want to at least see if it’ll… settle before I start moving around. It feels like my insides have all been turned upside down or something, and I don’t want to make anything worse if I can help it.”

“Don’t rush yourself, baby. None of us really know what you’re dealing with right now - and until Damian finds someone that does there’s not a whole lot we can do. We’re safe where we are, so you can take as much time as you need.”

“Speaking of,” Tim began, gaze shifting back to the far view of distant mountains and a cold sky through the diamond cut glass of the bedroom window he had been admirring before the incubus had entered, “where are we?”

“Russia,” Dick replied, following Tim’s pretty blue eyes to the scenery outside, “in the middle of nowhere, too. There’s a lake one side of the castle and a forest the other, you’ll love it.”

“Why Russia?”

“This castle was built hundreds of years ago when Lucifer was actually still around - it housed a great many satanic cults that actually drew connection to the underworld, and so has a place in the sort of between-dimension that you can actually get to hell through - sort of like Jay’s pocket realities.” Dick explained, the hand that wasn’t still running through Tim’s hair moving to cradle the younger’s hand on his stomach.

“Which means..?” Tim prompted.

“It means we’re currently between two separate dimensions - a place most demons that actually visit hell only spend a few milliseconds in. We’re basically impossible to find here, and certainly at least untrackable.”

Tim nestled a little further into Dick’s side with a sigh, finding himself a little irritated that he’d never gotten the chance to finish his studies on demons and the underworld and everything alike before he’d been dragged into this mess.

“I miss our apartment.” he stated after a long while of simply resting in a comfortable quiet, realising just how much he’d begun to long for home through all the chaos. “I miss sitting on the sofa with you in the sun and watching k-dramas together. I miss everything being simple.”

Dick sighed, deft fingers still carding through Tim’s hair as he rested his head atop the younger’s.

“I miss it, too. I wanted to spend more time with you once you’d quit university and help you learn more about my world. I wanted to get you and Jay to reconcile so he could be with us again.” the incubus hummed.

“You wanted Jay to be with us?”

“I think so,” Dick mused, sounding a little unsure of his own thoughts, “I’m happy I have you all so myself - but you and him had something special, and Jay and I have been together for hundreds of years. We were good when Jason was with us, too.”

Tim shifted in the bed, wriggling out of the satin sheets to climb on to Dick’s lap slowly - still careful of his body and whatever the curse could be doing to him.

“Are you okay with that? I never tried to talk to Jay about it because I didn’t want to ruin what we had. Even back in England, I didn’t want to accidentally start acting too close again in case you didn’t like it - I didn’t think it was right when I have you.”

Dick smiled, reaching up to cradle Tim’s soft face in his warm hands, stroking his thumb over the little human’s cheek as he pressed a kiss to the tip of his cute little nose, to each of his cheeks and finally to his pretty, pink lips.

“I love you, baby. Nothing’s ever going to make me stop loving you, no matter how close you are with Jay. Be his friend, be his _lover_ \- I’m okay as long as you’re still mine.”

“You wouldn’t be jealous?” Tim asked, placing his hand over Dick’s much larger one on his cheek. The incubus laughed, kissing him again and again - biting lightly at the younger’s jaw and trailing kisses down his neck, nibbling on Tim’s collarbone and making the little human giggle.

“Jay’s the closest I’ve ever had to being in an actual relationship before, baby - I don’t think I ever could get jealous over him.” he hummed, licking a thin strip down Tim’s chest, popping a few of the buttons on his pajama shirt and relishing the way the younger shivered in his arms with each loving touch. “And besides, I’m an incubus, baby - it’s in my nature to want as much as I can possibly get.”

**Author's Note:**

> Kudos and comments sure will be appreciated!
> 
> Visit me on Tumblr at the-sky-is-a-lie or come and chat on Discord at #7527


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